E46 (1999 - 2006) The fourth generation 3 Series (E46 chassis) was introduced in 1999 and set the standard for engineering and performance during it's years of production including being named to Car & Driver's 10 best list every one of those years! ! -- View the E46 Wiki

One thing that I had to order in a pinch was a set up 10MM turner front spacers. Reason for this purchase was I needed them to clear the break calipers.

The last images I have from 2005 are of a drive I lead up Ice House Road. We call this road the "don't F-Up Road" as there one section is a 2500 vertical drop off the cliff and did I mention there is no guard rails. The other half the road is more of the same cliffs and sheer rock wall on the other side. Saddly there is a story about the rock wall later down the time line. The road after the zero tolerance areas is smooth and a sheer blast to drive.

The start of 2006 was the same as the year past. Setting up meet a drives and still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the car. This year was also the year a lot of changes would happen to the car and not all of them were good. But before we get into the good, the bad and the ugly of the year, let's start off in January with a nice bath.

In March of 2006 I decided I wanted to do some major changes. At the time the hot shop for BMW's was EvoSport down in Long Beach CA. I contacted them to do an install of a Vorsteiner Carbon Fiber roof with sunroof insert. I made the choice to do this option in order to be different as there were people already with CSL roofs. Below is the start of the CSL Sunroof install and the start to many other problems.

Besides the carbon roof I had some other changes made to the car under the recommendations of EvoSport. This would turn out to be a big mistake and was a life lesson to always, always do your own research. The first of EvoSport recommendations was to install their headers as they were "supposed" to be similar to CSL headers. These were also supposed to provide better low end torque.

Done that drive a few times. Growing up was on the road all summer with the parents to setup sound for conventions. I have the pleasure to say I have driven to all the lower 48 and all the provinces in Canada. Though it was in 83 Chevy van with a trailer so not as fun as if it was in our cars.

I hear you...in the late `80s, my wife and I drove the whole length of the PCH in a rented Chrysler New Yorker turbo....we drove it like it was an M3....

__________________

The road goes ever onward....
(R.I.P. Jever)

*Please support the Disabled American Veterans*

When faced with choosing between two evils, always go with the one you`ve never tried before....

The last power mods I had them install was an AFE stage 2 intake and Powerchips performance software. The AFE was supposed to be superior to the GrouppeM as it allowed more airflow compared to the smaller GrouppeM filter. Supposedly this was also the setup they ran on their race car which at the time was doing very well on the race circuit. The Powerchips software was the race software tune to take advantage of the new intake, headers and exhaust system.

The last of the work I had done while the car was in Long Beach was to install a set of Ground Control lower control arms and differential shims.

Before I show the finished install pics, the story associated with this stall was when I drove to LA and started to make the track over the Grape Vine it started to lightly snow over the summit. Now for you folks in snowy areas you are like ok and this is special cause? You forget this is California and that white, wet water stuff is a myth unless you live in the Sierras HAHA. And to note it also snowed on me over the summit on the way home as well so I have seen double snow. Images as flows are of the car being picked up at the end of March 2006.

It is worth to note at the time I thought the parts and work were done correctly. Over the ensuing months I would find issues with the installs and parts that would eventually end with legal actions being fired at each other. As EvoSport is no longer in business I can now share my stories of the bad work that was performed.
In April 2006 I ordered the rear CSL diffuser in order to complete the back end CSL look. This is not one of the fanciest mods for a CSL but is a good accent piece.

When May 2006 rolled around I went down to Long Beach Again to have EvoSport install a Vorsteiner CSL bumper with fog lights. The bumper itself looked good but I could tell the fitment was not that great. I went with the Vorsteiner bumper as I wanted a CSL look but did not want to lose my break cooling ducts. Sadly I do not have any images of the install images or images from the 2006 Bimmerfest of the bumper. The only Images I have of the new bumper is a photo shoot at Sacramento State in June 2006.

After May 2006 things went downhill with the car. The first of the downhill things I noticed was the bumper fitment and how it was just not quite right. I know this is minor but it always seems to be the little things that bother you the most. Second was the car felt very sluggish at times with the new headers and intake. Needless to say I was not happy with the "supposed" upgrades and was starting to become very displeased with the work done to my car. The last straw was when I was washing the car and I started to have a leak over the passenger side of the car. That was it and at that point I went to my new local shop and said I want all the EvoSport crap off my car.

In December 2006 I dropped off the car at my new shop and started the few month legal fight with EvoSport to correct their shoddy install of the roof. The images below are of the roof prior to the new rood install. Notice the over drilling of the 96 spot welds and the crapy application of the glue on the areas of the roof.

After several months of dealing with the legal issues of the poor roof install, I finally got resolution and began the rebuilding process to fix my car. The first Item was to replace the roof with a OE CSL roof. The shop that did the install of the new roof did a lot of research on how the factory does the install. Needless to say they did a great job as they had to fix the 96 spot welds and re prep the car for the new roof.

Now that the new roof was installed we could start to remove the other EvoSport installed crap. First Item was to install SuperSprint Stepped Header V1, SuperSprint Stepped Race 100 cell cats.

At this time I decided that I would upgrade the cars suspension to a coil over kit. I purchased the TC Kline dual adjustable coil overs, with 500 front and 500 rear springs. I also purchased the TC Kline Camber plates so I could get better suspension configuration.

To help improve engine cooling I had the Turner Motorsports Oil Cooler kit. The size comparison between the stock oil cooler and the Turner Oil Cooler is quite a difference. This is a great system for those looking to protect their investment.

For the transmission I had UUC red transmission mounts installed to keep everything firm and in place.

The Last major change at this time was to remove the Vorsteiner bumper and replace it with an OE Euro bumper. I took the CSL splitter off the old bumper and had them custom installed into the Euro bumper so I could get an OE fit and finish but with the Vorsteiner CSL look.

After all the upgrades and changes had been completed it was around mid April 2007. The work was completed in time for me to attend Bimmerfest that year and display my car in the shops booth that did the work. It was my first time being a car on display for a company which was pretty cool.

After getting back from Bimmerfest I attend the monthly EuroSunday event where I got to showcase all my new parts and upgrades. I still was running the Powerchips software at this time and still had issue of the car running way to rich.

In August of 2007 I did my first indoor photo shoot of the car and with my girlfriend at the time. Sadly that story did not have a happy ending but in the end was for the best as I meet the true love of my life in the following years. Sadly though this photo shoot is still part of the cars story.

The end of the year I did one more photo shoot for a fall calendar. These are some of the best images I have of the car in its older configuration. 2007 Was also one of the last years I would do any modification to the car for quite some time. This had to do mostly with how life throws curve balls at you and not always helping you achieve your goals.

2008 would be a year of meets and drives and nothing in the way of upgrades. Other than the right mounting bracket of the muffler breaking and having to be re-welded, it was just a year of life not cars.

The first set of images I have from this year are pictures at the local dealer during the BMW club annual dinner. These make for some great images when looking back on them now. I need to get back there again for more images.

One of the best rolling shots I have of my car was taken at a EuroSunday event in the Bay Area. I do not know when the date was but it still is a great shot of the car.

Next set of images I have are of a photo shoot at the Aerospace Museum of California in October of 2008. This combined the two loves I have of flying and sports cars. A bit of trivia for those out there is the F14 Tomcat in the pictures is one of the F14's used to film the movie Top Gun.

2009 was a sad year in regards to my normal routine of things. I was no longer organizing big meet and drives as well as just doing EuroSunday events. The only drives I was doing at this time was the drive after EuroSunday. This was mostly due to the now ex-wife kind of putting a damper on such activities. All the images I have are from EuroSunday events throughout the year.

I did manage to squeak one upgrade in which was to go to Discovery Automotive Race Software. This was to replace the rich running Powerchips software. The "DA" software seemed to work well and I ran with this software for until 2013.